The Down Side of Up
by freakingdork
Summary: Sometimes, things are more complex than they seem on the surface. Written for the angst bingo: wealth and poverty. Oneshot. Complete.


**The Down Side of Up**

The first time he asked Spencer to move in with him, Spencer said he wasn't ready. Derek could accept that.

But the other times he mentioned it after that, Spencer's excuses continually got more confusing. He's worried about living with Clooney when they've gotten along just fine for months now. He's worried about work finding out when their relationship was the most well known "secret" in their department. He wanted space when all he seemed to want was to stay forever. Derek tried to be understanding, but it got harder when things stop making sense.

* * *

After the basketball game ended, the news came on and despite their mutual dislike of such programs, they were both too lazy to change it. The newscaster droned on and between his monotone voice and the warmth of his boyfriend snuggled against him, Derek almost missed it.

"Baby, isn't that your neighborhood they're talking about?"

"Mmm, oh uh, yeah."

"You've had ten break-ins in the past two weeks?" Derek wasn't exactly surprised by the number; the neighborhood wasn't known for being safe.

"I guess. I don't know. It's not like I watch the news. We get enough depressing shit at work."

"Yeah, I know." A map flashed up on the screen, pinpointing all the locations of the crimes. "Christ, that one looks like it was right outside your apartment!" He chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to decide how poorly this might go over. "Spencer, why don't you move in with me? It's safer and you're here most of the time anyway...Clooney loves you, the team knows about us, there's plenty of space for your stuff..."

Spencer just stared at him and Derek continued on, undeterred. "Look, I'm confused as to why you live in that crummy apartment in the first place and..."

"It's the only thing I could afford!" Spencer interjected, suddenly furious.

"The only thing...?" Derek was shocked. "Spencer, you're GS 14! You make at least $100,000 and that's before all the overtime we put in."

Spencer got up from the couch. "Actually, I made $112,224 last year before taxes but not including overtime."

Derek stared incredulously. "Which is exactly why I don't understand! Where is all your money going?"

"It's none of your goddamn business!" he yelled, grabbing his bag and coat.

"Where are you going?"

"Home. I don't have to deal with this," Spencer huffed.

"Spencer, wait...when did this become a fight?"

"When you..." Spencer drifted off, looking vaguely panicked. "...I don't want to talk about it right now."

Derek sighed. "Okay, but we have to at some point, alright? Sooner rather than later." Spencer nodded, letting Derek take his things and set them aside. "Let's get some sleep."

* * *

It seemed neither of them slept well, but at some point, Derek must have fallen asleep because when he woke, Spencer was staring at him, though he quickly looked towards the ceiling.

When Spencer finally spoke, his voice was small and tight. "Do you know how much it costs to institutionalize someone?"

Derek was silent.

"On the cheap end, it's $120 a day and that doesn't include doctors or medications, but Bennington costs more than that anyway. Mom's on disability, which helps, but not much, and thankfully, most of her doctors and medications are covered by Medicaid, but..." Spencer let it hang in the air, his eyes becoming unfocused.

"It's still expensive, isn't it?" Derek guessed.

"When I first put her there, we started out paying the bill with her savings, but that ran out within the year. I lucked out, or at least I thought I did, because the doctors told me that they had a special program for people like us who couldn't pay. After I saw my dad and my mom interact a couple years ago..." Derek nods, wanting him to continue even though he was decently sure of what he'd say next. "Well, I realized he was probably paying for her hospital bills during that time. I looked up the pricing online when we got home and he's still paying for part of them, even now."

"How much are you paying now?"

"I've always paid about half of my paycheck, even my first year when I was making $3,900 a month," Spencer said.

"That's still decent money, even when you weren't making a lot."

"I put at least a fourth of my paycheck and all the overtime into a savings account." The reason behind this hung in the air between them. "I never had student loans. I mean, I had to do some questionable things I'm not terribly proud of to have money for food, especially those earlier years when I couldn't legally get a job or sign for a loan. But I give about $1000 a month to various scholarship programs because I want other kids to have the opportunities I had."

"How much are you living on then?" Derek asked.

"About $900. That 'crummy' apartment is $700 and that doesn't include utilities."

Derek scrubbed his face. "Baby, it would be so much cheaper for you to live here."

"I know that." He sighed. "I wasn't ready at first, but once I was, I realized I'd signed a 2 year lease and I still have over 7 months left. I can't justify breaking it Derek, it's too expensive."

"Spencer..." Derek said quietly.

"It's stupid, right? I mean, I know could take the money out of my savings account and just put more in with all that I save living with you, but I can't get around the idea of actually taking the money out."

"No, it's not stupid. I can see why that would stress you out. Look, I can pay for it." Spencer looked like he might protest, so Derek was quick to add on, "I want to pay for it. Please, let me help you."

Derek was sure Spencer was going to say no, so it's a surprise when he agrees. Still, there are so many stipulations that, in the end, it's hardly a relief for him. Derek knew it was Spencer's strong sense of self-reliance that had him insisting that Derek's not allowed to help him with anything else, but that doesn't stop him from feeling like he's done something wrong.

* * *

**- A/N -**

I spent more time researching this fic than I did writing it. I have an entire document of numbers and reasons why I picked the amounts I did (I even went apartment searching online).

Here's some general math for you to ponder:

Based on how nice they portray the place Diana stays at and the places one of my friends has stayed at, it'd most likely be 91,500-164,500 a year (300-500 a day) and places like that are private pay (aka insurance won't cover even a portion of the cost) and SSI/disability is about 18,000 a year (given what clients of mine have told me).

Also, by the end of 2010, Reid will have only saved up 155,952 (before taxes, but not including overtime).


End file.
